Which Poker Personality Are You?
By: MICHAEL GREENS

fish, weak-tight players, the maniac, the rock, and strong-aggressive players. Try to find a Texas Hold’em image description that conveys your style of play or opponents you've played with. But remember, just like the article, your opponents may use their table image to throw you off to make you believe they are something that they are not.

1. A Fish:

The weakest Texas Hold’em image and player there is. Also the most prevalent, fishes have poor hand selections and will call just about anything (also known as calling stations).

This person has very little skill or discipline, investing into too many hands, hoping for a lucky break. Chips are earned mainly from these players.

However, fish players enjoy the bluffing element of poker, so don't be surprised if a fish tries to make a move with nothing or slow-playing by checking the best hand.

Basically, a fish is just a bad player. You can't bluff a bad player. When a fish has some kind of hand and is still in the pot, it's obvious he's got something. Play straight forward - no tricks or fancy plays against these players.

2. Weak-Tight:

These players understand the fundamentals of winning at poker and have better hand selection, but with one exception - they're afraid. They are quite passive and will often check or call rather than bet or raise. They fear losing a pot with an average hand and get bullied around with raises. This Texas Hold’em image may seem easy to bully around, but are capable of trapping you later on.

It's better to lead with a bet if you're acting before the weak-tight opponent rather than check. When you bet into a weak-tight player, their common reaction would be just calling or folding. If they fold, great, if they call, they're probably holding a decent hand, but are afraid to bet or raise at the pot because they're skeptical they might lose the pot. So making a strong play at the Turn would scare them away.

3. Maniac:

Also known as a loose aggressive Hold’em player, these players play as many hands as fishes but are inclined to raise and re-raise. It's quite difficult to tell if they are bluffing or not. They are known to bully players around, but isolating these players by re-raising them off guard or having a decent hand will scare them away. Play tight against these opponents and trap these players to knock them out.

Play strong hands against these opponents (AK, AQ, KK, etc) or play a hand if you can see the flop for cheap, and if you hit a good hand on the flop, lead off with a bet. The maniac may try to play back and raise, but if you have a considerable hand, then don't be shy to re-raise to make them second think their move.

4. The Rock:

Super tight Hold’em player who only plays premium hands. They play so few hands, that when they do limp in or call a bet, you'll know exactly what they have (AA, AJ, KK, etc). Also known as the predictable player. So when a rock raises or calls your bet, you should have alarms flashing in your head that you’re up against a premium hand.

It's best to stay out of the way when these players raise preflop. But knowing these players only hold big hands preflop, flops with no aces or face cards can be most profitable for you, knowing your rock opponent didn't hit, unless they hold high pockets. Try to bet a substantial amount to take the pot down.

5. Strong-Aggressive:

These Hold’em players are at the top of the pyramid: Strategic and tactically sound players with the ability to adapt and change gears in every game. They have control over the tables and are much more eager to bet at the pot rather than call. They change pace at anytime, making them very unpredictable and feared by their opponents.

Michael Greens is a professional poker player, that just finished writing his poker book  "Texas Holdem for Dummies"

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